Mahalo Hawaii

Yesterday, we said goodbye to family and to Maui as we flew back home. We were packed up and ready to leave by 10 am. We said goodbye to the remaining family who were leaving later in the day and headed to the airport. We had short flight to Oahu and then a long flight back to San Diego. The flight was about 5 hours long and it was cool to see the sunset was 40,000 feet in the air. The flight provided our speed, altitude, and estimated time of arrival on the screens in the seats in front of us. It probably didn’t interest any other passengers, but I thought it was awesome. Around 10:20 pm we landed in San Diego and were picked up by dad.

A poorly taken picture of the sunset from the plane

Though this wasn’t a traditional road trip, it’s been one of my favorites. We’ve hiked, we’ve swam, and we’ve went to museums. Out of all the activities we did in Hawaii my favorite was eating dinner each night with my whole family. My brother Zach said something I think is true. We see our Dad’s side of the family usually once or twice a year and usually not everyone at one point. When we do, it is only for a day. So was nice to slow down and savor the time spent with each family member (even if we did wake up at 1:30 am to do a bike ride). It was a real treat to be able to spend an entire week with all my uncles, aunts, and cousins playing games and catching up on everyone’s lives. Hawaii did not disappoint with its beautiful nature, great beaches, and surprisingly tasty POG juice (passion, orange, and guava). However, I am mildly bummed we didn’t watch Lilo & Stitch during our trip, but I guess I’ll just remember its most notable line: “Ohana means family. Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.”

My family

For a different perspective of our trip to Hawaii, you can read my mom's blog here.